Left handed shooting

Strider · 07-22-2003, 02:44 PM

My cousin and I went shooting a couple of weekends ago. Just his 22 pistol and my Luger. We had quite a bit of fun although it started out with me wondering what had I done to my pistol when I last cleaned it. I had purchased a new mec-gar magazine for it and had not tried it out yet.

Well the fun started with the first clip. Using the bulk ammo from Walmart I had the second round stove pipe on me. Well I removed the magazine and cleared out the jam. No problem, I thought maybe the rounds were not strong enough. I fired the pistol again and lo and behold the magazine is laying at my feet and the next round is stove piped. Now I really got bummed out. That was when I started thinking maybe it was either the new magazine or I missed something when I put it together or I broke something inside.

Well after taking it apart and checking everything, I found nothing was broken. That was a relief. I got everything back together and made sure it was right. Back to shooting. Guess what, the magazine is at my feet again. OK now what. Well I decided to check out the magazine release. It seemed to be alright with the exception of the grip may be a bit tight but decide it was not. I took the pistol in hand again (unloaded mag) and watch what I was doing when I squeezed the trigger. You guessed it, the magazine dropped right out. Why? It was not the grips on the pistol. It was the grip of the shooter. My finger was sitting right across the mag release and pushing it enough to release the magazine.

Now I know why you rarely see pictures of soldiers shooting the Luger left handed. I modified my grip some and was able to continue shooting. I even tried shooting right handed. Man was that wierd.

Well I guess the moral of this long winded story is if you shoot left handed, make sure you are not pushing on the magazine release while shooting. It can be quite scary when that happens.

Have any of you left handed shooters had this happen to you?

Strider.

trigger643 · 07-22-2003, 06:35 PM

I am left handed and learned to shoot pistol from my father, a WWII Drill Instructor in the craft of pistolmanship(among other things, mostly making privates miserable at Ft Walter, TX, 1942-45). Depending upon the size of your hand (of course), it would be appropriate for the pad between the first and second joint to have the trigger resting evenly across it (counting joints from the tip back). The second most desireable would be to have the pad of the tip of the finger on the trigger. Having the finger too far into the trigger guard, with the trigger resting too far down the finger, requires the muscles in the hand to flex the finger, vs the finger's own muscles, causing, in the case of a lefty, the pistol to pull to the left...

Also, you may want to address the spring in the mag release. It may be worn. If you are hold the pistol tight enough to release the magazine with a normal strength spring, then you are holding it too tight, and your marksmanship will suffer.

Glen

Strider · 07-23-2003, 12:15 PM

Hi Glen, thanks for the reply. I will keep in mind what you said. I think my basic problem was I was just to darn exited about getting a chance to go shooting. It had been quite a while since I last went out. I had no more problems once I relaxed my grip, calmed down a bit and made sure of what I was doing. <img border="0" alt="[ouch]" title="" src="graemlins/c.gif" /> I took a look at the spring and it apeared to be fine. I believe it was just too tight of a grip. It definetely was a great day of shooting though. Thanks again.
Strider.

07-22-2003, 02:44 PM	#1
Strider User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico Posts: 256 Thanks: 26 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Left handed shooting My cousin and I went shooting a couple of weekends ago. Just his 22 pistol and my Luger. We had quite a bit of fun although it started out with me wondering what had I done to my pistol when I last cleaned it. I had purchased a new mec-gar magazine for it and had not tried it out yet. Well the fun started with the first clip. Using the bulk ammo from Walmart I had the second round stove pipe on me. Well I removed the magazine and cleared out the jam. No problem, I thought maybe the rounds were not strong enough. I fired the pistol again and lo and behold the magazine is laying at my feet and the next round is stove piped. Now I really got bummed out. That was when I started thinking maybe it was either the new magazine or I missed something when I put it together or I broke something inside. Well after taking it apart and checking everything, I found nothing was broken. That was a relief. I got everything back together and made sure it was right. Back to shooting. Guess what, the magazine is at my feet again. OK now what. Well I decided to check out the magazine release. It seemed to be alright with the exception of the grip may be a bit tight but decide it was not. I took the pistol in hand again (unloaded mag) and watch what I was doing when I squeezed the trigger. You guessed it, the magazine dropped right out. Why? It was not the grips on the pistol. It was the grip of the shooter. My finger was sitting right across the mag release and pushing it enough to release the magazine. Now I know why you rarely see pictures of soldiers shooting the Luger left handed. I modified my grip some and was able to continue shooting. I even tried shooting right handed. Man was that wierd. Well I guess the moral of this long winded story is if you shoot left handed, make sure you are not pushing on the magazine release while shooting. It can be quite scary when that happens. Have any of you left handed shooters had this happen to you? Strider. __________________ Sid. Patience is a bitter plant, but it has sweet fruit. ~German Proverb If it is made before 1930 ..........It is a prototype.

07-22-2003, 06:35 PM	#2
trigger643 User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Murfreesboro Posts: 502 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	I am left handed and learned to shoot pistol from my father, a WWII Drill Instructor in the craft of pistolmanship(among other things, mostly making privates miserable at Ft Walter, TX, 1942-45). Depending upon the size of your hand (of course), it would be appropriate for the pad between the first and second joint to have the trigger resting evenly across it (counting joints from the tip back). The second most desireable would be to have the pad of the tip of the finger on the trigger. Having the finger too far into the trigger guard, with the trigger resting too far down the finger, requires the muscles in the hand to flex the finger, vs the finger's own muscles, causing, in the case of a lefty, the pistol to pull to the left... Also, you may want to address the spring in the mag release. It may be worn. If you are hold the pistol tight enough to release the magazine with a normal strength spring, then you are holding it too tight, and your marksmanship will suffer. Glen __________________ "There are three reasons to own a gun: To protect yourself and your family, to hunt dangerous and delicious animals, and to keep the King of England out of your face." Ã¢?? Krusty the Clown

07-23-2003, 12:15 PM	#3
Strider User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico Posts: 256 Thanks: 26 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Hi Glen, thanks for the reply. I will keep in mind what you said. I think my basic problem was I was just to darn exited about getting a chance to go shooting. It had been quite a while since I last went out. I had no more problems once I relaxed my grip, calmed down a bit and made sure of what I was doing. <img border="0" alt="[ouch]" title="" src="graemlins/c.gif" /> I took a look at the spring and it apeared to be fine. I believe it was just too tight of a grip. It definetely was a great day of shooting though. Thanks again. Strider. __________________ Sid. Patience is a bitter plant, but it has sweet fruit. ~German Proverb If it is made before 1930 ..........It is a prototype.